Sideburn x Royal Enfield Special Edition

Slide (& crash) with style

24 tips from racing legends

Fast track

Flat track into

How to make a hot shoe

3 x Fine Royal Enfield Trackers

Special Edition

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IRST THINGS FIRST. Flat track and dirt track are two names for the same activity. It’s America’s national motorcycle sport, dating back over a century and has a good claim on being the original extreme sport. In the last few years, flat track has enjoyed a renaissance and unprecedented growth around the world, from the grassroots to the very top.

There are run-what-you-bring races for road bikes all over the world and, at the other end of the scale, dirt track at the X Games, plus a televised national pro series in the USA. The simple joy of flat track fun with a bunch of friends dovetails with Royal Enfield’s message of easy-going enjoyment, because you don’t need loads of kit, much money or a super-specialist bike to dip your toe into the flat track world. This magazine tells you how.

Gary Inman Editor

04 THE ORIGINAL Race-winning Royal Enfield from the 1960s

THE 06 NAIL BASICS

Read and learn before you cut your first laps

YOU WANT 10 SO TO RACE?

Race legends share tips to make you fast and smooth

19 PEAKY BLINDERS

Handsome Himalayan FT411 trackers built by S&S

NEED TO 23 ISLIDE

Our man on a mission reports from the very first Royal Enfield Slide School

27 GET BOOKING A HOT 28 MAKE SHOE Now it’s your turn

A step-by-step steel slipper

This special edition of Sideburn was made in partnership with Royal Enfield. It was published

by Inman Ink Ltd. Editor: Gary Inman Deputy editor: Mick Phillips Art editor: Kar Lee None of this magazine can be reproduced without the publisher’s consent © 2020 Sideburn magazine

@sideburnmag sideburnmag sideburnmagazine.com Cover illustration: Prankur Rana

TRAIN 32 BUILD RACE Four women, four 650 Interceptors, one winner

40 INTRODUCING Royal Enfield’s stunning FT 650 Concept

46 EVOLUTION

Ever wondered why flat trackers look the way they do?

SIDEBURN IS THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF AMERICAN FLAT TRACK

the

original This Royal Enfield 500 spent 1964 beating the best of California’s bikes and racers Words: Gary Inman Photo: Mick Duckworth

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OYAL ENFIELD’S RELATIONSHIP with dirt track stretches back to the mid-’60s and involves one of the most legendary tuners in the sport’s history.

Sheldon ‘Shell’ Thuet built, developed and tuned bikes for world champions including ‘King’ Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson. But before that he created this highly effective Royal Enfield Bullet that dominated race nights at the world-famous Ascot Half-Mile, Gardena, California. Not only that, Thuet was a member of the 13 Rebels Motorcycle Club and is credited as being the blueprint for the character of Johnny, played by Marlon Brando in the movie The Wild One. In 1964, Elliot Schultz teamed up with Thuet and rode his modified Enfield 500cc single to 31 wins from a total of 39 races entered. Back then, dirt track bikes didn’t even have a back brake when they raced on ovals and you can see Schultz’s race winner doesn’t have one fitted. It’s a hardtail too, no rear suspension, so, on the surface, it’s as rudimentary as racing bikes get, even by mid-’60s standards, but the magic is under the surface.

Thuet modified a conrod designed for a Chevrolet V8 to fit the stock crank. He welded a new crown on top of the piston, created valves from raw blanks, fitted Harmon and Collins cams and his own design of fabricated rockers. Reports say the compression ratio was raised to 10.5:1. An Amal GP carb breathes via that elephant’s trunk air filter arrangement, designed to gulp huge lungfuls of air without ingesting dust and grit. The 500 has a simple-as-sawdust straight-through big-bore pipe, swept back and ending in a fabricated megaphone.

Is anyone else thinking of finding an old Bullet to create a replica?

nail the

basics Throughout this special Sideburn x Royal Enfield magazine we go into detail to give novices a fast track into flat track. There can be a lot to take in, perhaps even a lot to unlearn, so here are the basics broken down to read, refer back to and use as a reminder

EDGE OF THE SEAT

In the corners, have your weight shifted so your butt crack is on the right edge of the seat, the opposite of how GP stars hang off the ‘inside’ of their bikes. This way, even if the bike was leant over till the bar end was on the ground, you’d still be on top of the bike.

KNEE IN

Push the inside of your right knee hard into the tank. This helps force you into the correct position.

FOOT ON THE BRAKE

Adjust your brake pedal so your foot is comfortably in contact at all times. You don’t want to be moving your foot around trying to find the pedal.

ELBOW UP

Keep your throttle elbow up, so your wrist isn’t locked and if/when the bars snap to the right you can move your arm without your elbow hitting your ribs causing you to move your whole body.

HEAD UP

Don’t fixate on the skiddy bit of dirt a few metres in front of your tyre, get your head up and look for the entry, then exit, of every corner. Constantly looking ahead means nothing should surprise you.

HIPS TWISTED

Your butt and knee positions combine with your pivoted hips and wide-open legs to force your left leg into the correct position.

NO PRESSURE

Dirt track tyres are designed to run at lower pressures than most road tyres. Go for 12-18psi (0.81.25 bar) on front and back.

SKIM YOUR SOLE

Your left foot should be skimming the surface, not pushed hard into it, until you need it to save a slide that’s got out of control.

GENTLY DOES IT

LIGHT GRIP

Big skids and sideways action look great in the photos, but don’t aggressively yank on the throttle or stomp on the brake or the bike will give you a slap. Be smooth and progressive and you’ll be going fast without even feeling like you are.

This is perhaps the hardest thing for a nervous novice to get used to, but a light grip on the bars is required, not a chicken-choking death grip. In the corners, your throttle hand should be positioned like you’re twisting a doorknob, fingers pointing to where you want to go.

DON’T TARGET FIXATE

Lots of tracks are lined with walls or fences. If you find yourself closer to one than you feel comfortable with, look where you want to be and not at the point you’re afraid of hitting. Visualising the ideal line is the only sure way to get you there. The same goes for dealing with fallen riders ahead of you: look for the line to miss the obstruction, don’t fixate on wreckage.

POINT IT

Repeat after us: toe where you want to go. Point your left foot ‘around’ the corner, not straight ahead.

SHOULDERS BACK

On the exit of the corner you feed the power in and search for traction. Rather than risk unsettling the bike by sliding back on the seat to get weight over the rear tyre, straighten your arms and lean your torso and head back to shift the centre of mass towards the back of the bike.

STRAIGHT TORSO

Don’t hunch over the bars, sit up straight.

RELAX

Flat tracks can get rough, and there is rarely, if ever, the same grip as a good road offers, so allow your body to stay loose and let the bike move beneath you, don’t tense up and try to fight it. Looking where you want to go will subconsciously change your body position to ensure you will.

CENTRE OF THE BIKE

Flat track bikes have short tanks to allow riders to sit close to the bars. No matter how tall you are, don’t slide back in the seat in the corners, because you need to be well forward.

HOT SHOE

You’re going to need one.

See how to make your own on p28.

FOOT UP

Don’t dangle your left leg off the peg down the straights, no matter how short they are. Raising your foot back onto the peg helps traction and gives your leg muscles a muchneeded rest.

SO NOW YOU WANT TO RACE?

Turn the page to read what to do next...

so you wan Illustrations: Prankur Rana

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art of the reason for flat track’s recent growth at a grassroots level is its simplicity. The oft-repeated phrase of Go Fast, Turn Left sums up the sport.

At its very core are a few riders, some motorcycles, a dirt oval and someone to wave the flag. To make the first step into the sport, you don’t need an expensive bike or to pay costly entry fees to race – the number of runwhat-you-bring dirt track races around the world have shown that.

While the initial attraction is the simplicity, what hooks people is mastering the technique that allows them to speed up, to slide confidently and to overtake the rider in front before the chequered flag waves. And being able to do that is not simple. Not for most people, anyway.

We spoke to some of the most famous and accomplished riders in the sport (and a newcomer) to share tips on how to get to grips with dirt track.

OUR EXPERTS

David Aldana Flat track legend who has been racing since the 1960s and still competes now.

Briar Bauman 2019 American Flat Track champion.

Chris Carr An all-time great and seven-time AMA flat track champion.

Johnny Lewis Pro race winner, Royal Enfield’s official flat track racer, boss of Moto Anatomy and principal of the Royal Enfield Slide School.

Todd Marella A real latecomer to flat track racing who didn’t start until he was in his 50s, but now races at every opportunity.

nt to race?

GET STARTED

Words: Todd Marella

OK, you’ve blurted, ‘I wanna do that’, now here are some of the mistakes I made and a few suggestions to ease your first steps into the racing world Firstly, ask yourself why you are doing this.

Is it the speed? Is it the styling of the bikes?

Because it looks easy? Only you know, so be sincere, as it will shape many of the decisions you make as you get into the sport. Like all motorsports, flat track is potentially dangerous; you race at close quarters with a host of other riders who want to go faster than everyone else, on a very hard surface.

Remember the speed and immediacy that drew you in as a spectator? Trust me, it’s real.

When I decided I wanted to start racing, I looked at bikes for sale online and found one.

In America, my home, this is easier than just about anywhere else. In some countries, and depending on your budget, you might have to modify a bike. Whichever route you take, think about what you need. I test rode the first bike I found and ‘had to have it’. On so many levels it’s not the right bike for me. I’m far too big for it, and it wasn’t as sound as it appeared.

I spent the better part of my first three races trying to keep my chain on the rear sprocket.

Can you modify the bike yourself? Or do you have the means to hire someone to repair/ tune/improve the bike? Being honest also means choosing the class that most suits you.

Let your level head be your guide.

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Know your limitations, too. This comes back to honesty. In club races, particularly at beginner level, you’ll be elbow-to-elbow with people of ability levels all over the spectrum. Much of racing is trusting the people around you. You’re depending on the riders immediately in front and to the side not to do something completely unexpected, and they’re counting on the same from you.

Protect yourself. Don’t be tempted to copy those riders you see ripping around in jeans and a T-shirt. Pad yourself where you can with the right stuff. Your style will determine some aspects of your choices, but let your personal safety be your primary guide. And yes, you’ll need a steel shoe for your left boot. If you can’t find one, make one yourself or befriend a welder (see p24).

Study the sport. Flat track is arguably the oldest form of motorsport and has a rich history. Watch old races on YouTube, go to local races and/or a race school such as Royal Enfield’s Slide School, and for goodness’ sakes, if you’ve not yet seen Bruce Brown’s classic film On Any Sunday, stop what you’re doing and watch it.

Don’t forget about the community building between flat track racers, mechanics and fans alike.

Those relationships will prove invaluable. I’ve made a number of truly great friends through this sport, and you will, too. Oh, and read Sideburn.

PERFECT YOUR BODY POSITION

Words: Chris Carr in conversation with Dave Skooter Farm

Body position is a cornerstone of dirt track racecraft, and differs from regular road riding

The key thing for good dirt track body positioning starts at the core of your body – the hips. That’s the part of the body that is closest to the balance point of the motorcycle, not only forwards and backwards but also left and right, it’s a four-way centre balance.

In a predominantly left-turn discipline, it all starts with the rotation of the hips around the focal point of the gas cap when entering the corner. As you increase the lean angle, it’s a matter of rotating the hips to the point where your butt ends up on the outside edge of the seat. This allows you to have your outside leg hard against the gas tank and helps to push the bike down into the corner with your leg, assisting leaning it over, not just relying on your arms. The twisting action is like closing a kitchen drawer with your hip.

This also forces you to open up your hips to the inside. When you extend your inside arm to increase the lean angle of the bike you don’t have to worry about the descending handlebar hitting the inside knee.

When you rotate your hips around the outside edge of the seat, the toe on your left foot will automatically point in the direction you want to go, that is, around the turn. The knee will also be pointing in the direction you are going. Sit like this, and no matter how far the bike is leaned over you’re on top of it, shoving weight down through the tyres, right into the ground, giving extra traction.

Most people grab onto the handlebars too tightly. If you hold the handlebars straight and you lean over, there is a certain point where you cannot get the necessary extension in your inside arm. Try to relax both hands and extend the fingers off the bars, they are also going to point left. When you rotate the hips, the hands naturally want to turn left.

I like to think of grabbing a throttle as if I’m going to turn a door knob, whether you are on-throttle or off-throttle. Everything points to the left. When you have a ‘locked in’ wrist, it limits how far you can lay the bike over.

Keep the elbow of your throttle arm as high as possible, because this will give extra leverage. Initially, it will feel weird and exaggerated but if you let it drop to your side, you end up having to compensate by using your whole upper body for leverage to muscle the bike through the turn.

Like anything else, with lots of practice and repetition the unnatural will eventually become natural. The key point is you have to stay on top of the bike at all times.

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GET THE HOLESHOT

Words: Johnny Lewis in conversation with Dave Skooter Farm

The holeshot is race lingo for getting into, and out of, the first corner in the lead. Making a great start is key to a good race How you feel mentally is so important. If you believe you will be in second place then you most definitely will be, at best. Don’t burden yourself worrying what other racers are likely to do when the flag drops. If you are sat on the front row, then it’s pretty much open season on who will get the holeshot.

Sure, it’s always better to be sitting on the groove [that’s the grippiest part of the track where all the rubber has been laid down] or that other spot that seems better than where you are, but there are always other factors that could come into play.

Come to the startline full of confidence and tell yourself you are going to get to that first corner first. If it doesn’t pan out that way, then self-preservation will kick in and you’ll do what it takes to get through the corner without incident. Calm the body. Calm the mind. Relax. Pull up to the line, pick a physical spot way off in the first turn – a rut or skidmark – and focus in on it. Tell yourself that amid all the ensuing chaos you are going to arrive at that spot.

On soft, cushion tracks you can’t help but notice those foreboding, deep ruts that form on the startline, but they’re your friends.

Look for the deepest mother-rutter and drop your rear wheel in it. Within that rut your tyre has much more surface contact all around and up the sidewalls of the tyre.

This will give you a whole lot more grip.

Chances are the rut has an ‘s’ shape to it, which is why you instinctively avoided it in the first place, right?

Don’t worry, the trick is to use your core strength and let your upper body relax. Go loose and float on, focusing on that sweet spot in the corner and letting the bike go where it initially wants to.

Many riders start in second gear, but I recommend first. This gives you a jump, however small, on the others. Sure, you’ll have an extra shift to deal with, but if you’re out front then who cares? As you anticipate the flag drop, have your left foot on the ground and your right foot on the brake. Hold the brake down maybe 15 per cent. Let out the clutch and find the bite point. There’s now tension in the bike and you’re loading the suspension.

When you take off, keep your foot on the brake into the corner. Being on the brake helps stop wheel spin, snaking sideways or excessive wheelies, depending on how much traction is on the track.

If the bike begins to wheelie just apply more brake. Your foot’s already on the pedal, and it brings the front end down. Stay on the gas but give it more rear brake. This keeps the revs up, but the brake drags the rear tyre into the ground for maximum traction.

Most folks turn up at a track practice and just ride round and round all day long, basking in the luxury of hallowed track time.

To get good at starts you need to practise starts, even if it feels boring compared to pitching it sideways. Try to recreate a race day. Practise starts at all points on the start grid, not just the prime spot.

Is there any opportunity to practise starts other than on the racetrack?

Asphalt, grass, mud, gravel... anywhere. Becoming comfortable with how your bike reacts under all conditions brings you closer to being at one with your machine.

USE YOUR BRAKE TO GO FASTER

Words: Johnny Lewis in conversation with Gary Inman

You’ve already read that the brake can help you win the race to the first corner. Now learn how braking can improve your lap times First thing, it’s crucial to have your brake pedal adjusted correctly, so you can be comfortable, but have your foot on the pedal without having to move it. I could tape my foot to my brake pedal, because it never leaves it.

Short track, half-mile, mile... it doesn’t matter the length of track. When you have to move your foot to reach for the brake pedal, that’s when bad stuff happens. Also, if you’re trying to reach around for the pedal, it’s taking the concentration away from some other area.

A lot of riders are what I call ‘toetappers’, because they don’t have their pedals angled correctly. Their heel is off the footpeg when they’re reaching for the brake and they’re tapping the pedal with their toe.

If you’re toe-tapping you can’t be

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consistent. But if you’ve got your heel resting on something you can then modulate the brake correctly.

I talk about brake pressure in percentages.

On a short track, even down the straightaway I’m often still leaned over and stepped out and already increasing braking by halfway down. I can apply it in five, ten, 15 per cent increments. Doing that begins to load the motorcycle down into the stroke of the suspension travel.

You want to do this, because if you go: throttle on; throttle off; brake; when you’re off the throttle you’re coasting. If you’re coasting, you’re unloading the motorcycle. If you keep it loaded it’s less likely to step out on the entry to the corner. If you limit that stepping out, then the entry to the corner is smoother. If that’s smoother, then the middle of the corner is easier.

You’re trying to have your motorcycle in the perfect squat. Imagine if you’re on the brake, then you let it off and the suspension rebounds. The bike is up on its suspension and then it won’t turn as easily. You can control rebound and compression with the pedal.

If the bike is pogoing, and the rebound’s too fast, you can hold the rear brake.

The shock is in its stroke and you’re controlling the rebound. If the bike is too soft and is squatting too much, be more gentle with the rear brake.

I use the most braking pressure in the apex of the corner, because I want the bike to make that direction change. For a lot of people, the apex is the most difficult part of the turn. You want to make that direction change and go, so I make that the slowest part of the corner.

It might not make sense to a beginner, but on certain tracks I apply loads of brake pressure on the exit of the corner. Getting on the gas while driving out of the corner is when the rear wheel starts to step out. Instead of closing the throttle, I just start applying the rear brake and it acts like traction control.

I’m advocating using the brake a lot, but with finesse. Some of the top guys use way more brake than me, but use way more throttle too, and they end up using their brake almost like a throttle. [They keep the throttle pinned and] they’re letting off the brake to accelerate, but doing that is so hard on the bike. You’re smoking the clutch, you’re smoking the crank. I aim to use the brake, not overuse it. The brake is my best friend.

RULE THE SHORT TRACKS

Words: Briar Bauman in conversation with Dave Skooter Farm

Amateur dirt trackers race on short tracks most often, not on the big mile and half-mile ovals. Speeds are lower but the racing can be more intense

On the short tracks, it’s really tough to get past someone with similar ability who is also going the same pace. Typically, a short track might have a very narrow racing line, not leaving a lot of options for overtaking.

Coming up through the ranks as an amateur, there is a degree of ‘positive mental attitude’, but at the professional level you simply cannot show up not expecting to win. Every time you’re out there you have to believe that you are the best, whether it’s starting, getting in the corner the deepest or getting back on the gas soonest.

On the racetrack, you have to assume something of an arrogant and aggressive attitude. When you line up, you need to understand in your own mind that you are one of the best to have ever done it. I don’t agree with arrogance off the track and some people don’t know the difference between being on and off the bike.

Racing on short tracks can mean banging bars, and there is a very fine line regarding acceptable overtaking moves. You don’t want to go out there and think you can just run into whoever you want and get away with it. That isn’t cool at all. However, it’s important to know you have the ability to make aggressive passes, as far as moving someone over without taking someone out, or putting a wheel in there and having the confidence to blast ’em off the track and carry on with your day.

On the short tracks, you make split-second decisions. You have to make your moves four or five times quicker than you would on a mile or half-mile. Everybody’s lap times are within a thousandth of a second.

The consequences of mistakes are really big on the track. I’m watching for the smallest mistake from the guy in front. When it happens, you have to totally capitalise on it.

It comes down to that arrogant attitude. You have to be willing to put yourself on the edge and get into the side of them. If they give you 12 inches on the inside, which is enough room for your front wheel, the track is so small that you have to take advantage of it. Nine times out of ten you’re going to be moving someone.

It’s risky stuff and by doing it you can crash and ruin your night, when you could have settled for a fourth or fifth. But if you hesitate when you shove a wheel, you could make a mistake and cause an incident.

Don’t intentionally be an ass and take someone out completely, but at the same time you have to be willing to risk being regarded as that ass who put a strong move on another rider to try to win.

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AND IF IT ALL GOES WRONG…

Words: David Aldana in conversation with Gary Inman

Know how to survive a crash There is an art to crashing. I crashed because there were times I lost control, or I went into the corner too deep and I crashed off the lowside. In that situation, I would just let go of the handlebars and look after myself. If I let go of the handlebars and the bike went into the fence, then big deal, the bike was going in the fence anyway, but if I held onto the bars it would drag me with it, so I let go. It’s important to know when to let go, give up a lost cause and live to fight another day.

The lowside crash isn’t usually too bad, unless you get hit by another bike coming

behind you. The highside is something different. If you highside, you go sailing over the handlebars into the air. That’s not like sliding off the lowside, it’s like being shot out of a cannon. When I was thrown into the air I’d always keep my eyes open, so I would see the ground coming and tuck my head in and just try to roll, almost like a gymnast. I knew I was going to hit the ground, so I’d try to make the best of it. I would tuck and roll. It eliminates you catching one corner of yourself – your collarbone, your shoulder – or breaking a wrist because you put your hand out.

Never outwardly let the opposition see you in pain. I crashed once, it was my fault, I got into a big old slide, highsided and landed on the handlebars right between my shoulder blades. It felt like somebody had hit me with a sledgehammer. I got up and, inside my helmet, I was ‘Uuugghh, aarrggh’, but I walked off the track into the pits, stood up as straight as I could, and as soon as I got between the trucks I let out a scream.

LAST WORD

It’s time to go racing. You’ve been honest, done your homework, you’re geared up, with a little bit of practice under your belt and you’re at the startline.

Breathe.

Within seconds the flag will drop.

You probably won’t get the holeshot, but you’ll be racing.

It will be exhilarating, frightening and as freeing as anything you’ve ever done.

You’ll try to remember all the tips you’ve read.

You’ll never remember them all, but never forget this one: have fun.

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Words: Gary Inman Photos: S&S (statics), George DuChaine (action)

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HEN A TRIO of Sideburn collaborators came together in a Venn diagram of short track symbiosis the result immediately got the magazine’s stamp of approval.

AFT National #10 and Moto Anatomy founder Johnny Lewis organised the indoor flat track race at the AIM Expo motorcycle show in September 2019, where S&S arrived with five converted Royal Enfield road bikes and the same number of hotshot riders ready to race the singles on the concrete short track. Blame my lack of vision, but I’d never have thought of the Indian-built 400cc adventure bike as the basis for an entry-level dirt track race bike, but it made perfect sense when I saw the photos.

Wisconsin-based S&S are performance partners for Royal Enfield. They developed Enfield’s record-breaking salt-flat racer1 and designed and manufactured a performance exhaust for the North American market.

S&S’s Dave Zemla takes up the story... ‘S&S are heavily involved in American flat track and support the Indian factory team as well as a number of other high-level programmes, so there’s a fair amount of tracker-centric enthusiasm within the company. Much of the focus with Royal Enfield has been on the new twins, but we saw an opportunity to work with their team on the Himalayan platform as well.’

Despite being one of the biggest motorcycle companies in the world, much of Royal Enfield’s design and direction is steered by a handful of incredibly down-to-earth bike nuts that I’ve known for over a decade. This small core was instrumental in setting up the company’s UK design and technology centre in the English Midlands, with key staff defecting from Triumph to join Enfield. The UK team are the people who, out of office hours, design and create the custom concepts that appear at the Bike Shed Show, Wheels and Waves and other big European events.

‘With the Himalayan, S&S began with a rendering supplied by the design team out of the UK,’ Zemla explains. ‘From there we scanned the stock bike and did much of the work in CAD. Once stripped to its essence, it was clear the Himalayan had great bones.’

Zemla says there’s a strong but simple chassis, solid motor and easily tuneable suspension. So how much of the original bike remained? ‘A surprising amount,’ he

Appendix

says. ‘We cut a few tabs off the frame to allow the exhaust to route internally, but left the complete subframe under the tail. Suspension is currently stock and other than intake and exhaust we haven’t touched the engine.’

The stainless exhaust system was designed and routed inside the frame to keep the bike narrow; 19in rims were laced to the stock hubs and the obligatory tracker bars fitted. It’s the tail section – instantly recognisable as a tracker seat unit, but not a lazy interpretation of a classic – that elevates the design. It’s a mix of 21st century MX and 1970s flat track.

‘It had to flow from the tank and side panels, wrap around the subframe and exhaust and stay narrow,’ says Zemla. ‘And of course, it

1 In 2018, 18-year-old Cayla Rivas broke class records at Bonneville on a modified, unfaired GT650 twin with a top speed of over 150mph.

(opposite page) Royal Enfield’s designers managed to make the bodywork look fresh, but unmistakably flat track, not easy.

The carbon seat butts up to the tank and sits over the original side panels (this page, clockwise from top left) Vortex bars hover over the standard Himalayan tank; 19in wheels use stock hubs; Speed Ranch is S&S Cycles’ in-house Wisconsin-based racing club; Frame and bottom end all as they left the factory. ‘Great bones,’ according to S&S; Top end has had some mild tuning and that gorgrgeous tucked-in S&S pipe

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had to be carbonfibre. We made a number of iterations before everyone was satisfied with the look and construction of the tail, then the S&S R&D crew created a rapid prototype model and, from that, a mould that allowed them to build a half-dozen tails.’

One of the racers who competed in the five-strong fleet at the AIM Expo’s Sideways Saturday is former AMA Horizon award winner and multi amateur championshipwinning Ohio native, Hunter Edwards.

‘Normally, I race one of my Honda CRF450Rs and because the Himalayan has less power [around 25bhp], it wasn’t as fast as what I normally race, but it definitely handled just as well. Being the stock frame and suspension I was very surprised at how well the bike handled. I could point it in any direction and it would go where I wanted it. I’m 5ft 10in and the bike fit me great. They did a great job on the tail section, and the Vortex flat track bars made the bike comfortable and tied it all together. It’s so nimble.’

Edwards soon got used to the former road bike’s user-friendliness. ‘The electric start is a luxury I never had growing up. The only change I would make would be dirt track footpegs. With the bike handling so well you could lay it over far enough that the footpeg would drag. It’s a very neat bike with some cool features; the more I looked at it the more I liked it.’

Although S&S are probably best known for engine tuning parts, carbs and exhausts, the company say they’ve done very little to the engine so far. ‘Our intent with these machines is short track racing – indoor stuff is first and second gear – as well as a training machine, and we’ve found [some] intake and exhaust [work] was more than enough to make the power we needed for both.’

S&S already make an extensive hooligan chassis and tuning kit for the Indian FTR1200, suitable for road or hooligan racing. It’s big-budget stuff and made, don’t forget, by the

Final details of the kit S&S are as follows.

It includes: exhaust, carbon tail section, footrest relocators, bars, levers, battery box, rims and spokes (to lace to stock hubs), number plate mounts, air filter and more for $3300. Items can be ordered individually

same firm that runs the three-time AFT championship-winning Indian FTR750 race programme, and Zemla says a kit is coming for Himalayans. ‘We will absolutely create a flat track kit for this machine. First, the bikes will be used at the Speed Ranch, a local flat track riding club formed by S&S employees, but the longer-term agenda is to create a lowcost spec [one-make] series across the globe.’

The last word goes to Hunter Edwards, the young racer brought up in the cut-throat national amateur and pro 450 classes. ‘The power delivery was smooth, and I feel like the bike could be geared for any short track.

At first I thought that the track at Sideways Saturday was small, but once I went out for practice it was a blast. I wanted to spin more laps even after the night was over.’

Vir would love to race, to be part of the flat track scene, but before all that he admits‌

I Need to

WORDS: Vir Nakai PHOTOS: Royal Enfield

Slide >

own a gear, look where you’re going, put your left leg out, drop the bike, look at the apex, remember to straighten your arm in the apex and don’t forget body position as you gas out of the exit.

This was my morning. I spent endless laps perfecting my entry speed, vision and exit body position and it’s finally all coming together. The laps are smoother and faster but... that damn elusive slide. I just can’t seem to initiate one.

‘OK Vir, you have it all down pat, you can do it this time,’ says Johnny as I jump on the bike and start doing laps. First few I come into the turn too fast, fumbling my exit. The next one I feel I’m too slow because I drop a gear early and slow down too much. Not to fret, I have a few laps left. Focus. Then it happens. I drop a gear and kill the throttle, put my leg out and push the bike down. My vision is correct, my left arm straightens out, my right elbow is pointing up high and I feel it. Holy smoke, I am sliding! And I hear Johnny shout, ‘That’s it!

Did you feel it? You got the slide!’

I’ve been on a flat track a couple of times and I think this is the first time I’ve got the back wheel to slide. It’s official. I am finally flat tracking and totally obsessed.

Now let me back this up a bit and tell you what’s going on. It’s a hot day in spring 2020 and I’m outside the city of Bangalore at Big Rock Dirt Park for the very first Royal Enfield Slide School and I get to ride the new Royal Enfield FT411 flat tracker. Today’s chief instructor and the man who consulted with

Yes, you might be quick on the road, but now forget all that and listen to this

Royal Enfield to create the Slide School, is Johnny Lewis, American Flat Track national race winner and owner of the Moto Anatomy in Florida, visited by the best riders in the world for refresher courses. But Moto Anatomy is an academy that also teaches beginners like me how to become a better rider and, well, win races.

Like most riding courses, the Slide School day begins with a sit-down classroom session on the basic principles of the sport. Lots of my fellow students are skilled motorcyclists, but much more used to spending time with their knees down on tarmac than slipping and sliding in the mud and dirt. For them, there’s a lot of unlearning to do before they can start learning. The classroom session is designed to help this. I, on the other hand, spend more time fooling around on rough and muddy trails than on asphalt and the ace up my sleeve is I have spent some time flat tracking in the past few years. But I’ve always sucked

‘First we boogie!’ says chief instructor, Johnny. Vir is not convinced

‘That’s it!

Did you feel it? You got the slide!’

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at paying attention in class and am staring at the presentation itching to ride.

Finally, it’s time to get some track time. We’re in groups of five, so we all have a motorcycle and get one-on-one time with Johnny and the Big Rock instructors, Nelly and Vijendra. Our various skill levels are all over the place, so this way the instructors can help each one of us in areas where we’re lacking.

My previous flat track experience was on more powerful motorcycles. The way the FT411 is set up means we need to change up a gear as we exit the turn and drop it back down before pulling into the next turn, to make the whole process smoother. Also, because I’m not coming into the turn like a bat out of hell, I can fix my line and vision. And that’s when I realise that’s what flat tracking is all about: not being fast, but being the smoothest through the turns.

Royal Enfield and S&S Cycle have done a great job of taking this adventure motorcycle and turning it into a flat tracker. The FT411 may not be the fastest, but it handles damn well around the track. You just need to point it in any direction and it goes, perfect for starting to learn how to flat track or for racing on short tracks.

The firm has plans to introduce Indian riders to flat track and, while the Slide School is now a regular feature at Big Rock Dirt Park, the

Eat my dust, suckers! Vir powersliding and kicking up a roost of Bangalore dirt

ROYAL ENFIELD FT411

The development of the Slide School bikes started off with a Himalayan handed over to S&S Cycle. They applied their knowledge and experience to create a flat tracker out of this single-cylinder adventure bike (see more in the Peaky Blinders story in this magazine).

The 21in front wheel was replaced with the 18in version off the 650 twins. Ours were shod with Timsun rubber. They then chopped the subframe and added a lightweight seat pan with thin padding. The instrument cluster and headlamps were replaced by a number board and there’s an S&S exhaust. A bigger rear sprocket was fitted and the front brake discarded. Conversion kits were supplied to Autolouge Designs in Pune to assemble the trackers.

idea is to set up flat tracks and slide schools all over the country and beyond.

I can’t wait. I want more time on track because... I NEED TO SLIDE.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

Get in touch to book your place at Slide School Royal Enfield is launching its Slide School in India and the USA, partnering with respected riding academies. The training will break down the slide technique used by professional riders in the American Flat Track series. This programme is designed to provide you with the knowledge that takes some riders a lifetime to figure out on their own. You’ll be taught the art of the slide on specially modified Royal Enfield FT411s.* *Schools in India allow riders to use their own bikes for a reduced price.

GET THE DETAILS For prices, dates and locations, visit the following websites: INDIA Royal Enfield’s Slide Schools are held at BigRock Dirt Park, Bangalore. bigrockdirtpark.com USA Slide Schools will travel to locations across the US and are run by Moto Anatomy. moto-anatomy.com n CLICK HERE to be taken to Royal Enfield’s Slide School website for more details.

A steel hot shoe is essential for anyone who wants to ride flat track. Try riding the way described earlier in this magazine without a slippery skid shoe on your left foot and it’s likely the sole of your boot will ‘grab’ the ground and either pull you off balance, make you crash, painfully wrench your knee, or all three. While it is a specialist piece of riding kit, and all the pros and many keen amateur riders have steel shoes made to suit their boots, it’s possible to make your own with basic tools. Here’s how to…

MAKE A

Your step-by-step guide Words & photos: Gary Inman

HOT SHOE

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TOOLS

✔ Marker pen ✔ Angle grinder with cutting disc ✔ File ✔ Hammer ✔ Scissors ✔ Tinfoil ✔ Large-diameter tube ✔ Welding equipment

SAFETY FIRST

Using tools and welding equipment is potentially dangerous. Take all the sensible precautions; use eye and hand protection; think about the risks to yourself and those around you and don’t set your shed on fire.

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Trace the shape Dirt trackers only race anti-clockwise, so draw around the sole of the left boot you plan to ride in. Now follow the outline again, but 20mm further out, so you have two lines.

NOTE: Heavy steel shoes may last longer, but the weight will not help a beginner hone their technique, so get hold of some mild steel sheet, 1.2 – 2mm thick. Obviously 2mm steel will be harder to cut and shape.

Hammer a curve

Now hammer some shape into the sole, forming the metal to follow the curve of the boot.

We used a rain gutter to help shape the curve to prove you don’t need a professional workshop. Hammer the steel to bend it and continue until it’s more curved than the actual boot sole, because the curve will flatten as you move to other steps of the process.

NOTE: We see a lot of firsttime DIY hot shoes that look like an old-fashioned deep-sea diver’s boot, but a flat shoe won’t skid along the floor as well as a nicely curved one.

Cut the sole

Cut around the outer sole shape, so you can still see the inside line you traced. We used a 4.5in angle grinder with a 1mm cutting disc, but you could use tin snips.

Deburr all the sharp edges after cutting.

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Create the lip

Find a short piece of large-diameter metal bar or tubing (like scaffold tube), hold it firmly (such as in a vice, but you can improvise) and hammer the 20mm lip to form the sides of the hot shoe. You can also hammer down onto the boot’s sole. This stage is when using thicker steel will cause more work. Keep trying the boot in the hot shoe to make sure it still fits.

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6

Shape the toe

We decided to make an enclosed toe for our boot, but a simple steel strap over the top is easier to fabricate. For a toe piece, make the pattern out of tin foil or card, then draw around it on a piece of 1.2 – 2mm steel.

Hammer it again. We used the rain gutter.

A car towball in a vice or something similar would help shape the curve, but it’s not essential.

NOTE: Working with steel of this thickness doesn’t require massive thwacks of the hammer, just lots of repetition. If you hit anything long enough it should eventually turn into what you want.

Tack the toe

Now you need welding equipment or someone with it. Tack-weld the toe onto the sole. We used an old MIG welder, but any form of welding will do. You might need a clamp or grips to hold the two pieces together. When the toe is tacked in place you can refine the shape of the toe and hammer gaps closed.

NOTE: If welding isn’t possible, consider riveting or bolting the parts together, but the hot shoe won’t be as sturdy.

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8

Form a loop

Cut and bend a loop of metal then weld it to the back of your hot shoe. This will take the strap you’ll need to fasten it to your boot. You’re finished. Happy sliding!

Weld in place

Check the boot still fits in the hot shoe, then seam weld the toe onto the boot.

Geoff Co-Built made this shoe using the most basic tools and a worn-out MIG welder to show it can be done. He makes beautiful exhausts and frames normally.

Visit co-built.net

NOTE: Professionally made shoes have a ‘hard facing’ on their sole to make them more hard wearing. They use a special alloy like Colmonoy or similar. For homemade shoes, ridges of weld will reinforce the bottom, but might be a bit grippy on clay tracks.

BUILD TRAIN R A C E Backing the rise of females in flat track, Royal Enfield supplies four women a new twin to modify and race Words: Gary Inman Photos: Lana MacNaughton/Royal Enfield

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field of 18 pro racers howl past in a blizzard of Ohio dust and gravel. Leather-wrapped smudges on tuned race bikes under a searing sun. The 25 heart-attack laps count down towards the chequered flag. Rider number 52, the smallest in the field, barely 5ft tall, takes the win. It was an incredible race. A group of old guys in the open seating behind me are back at the local races for the first time in 20 years. One asks, out loud, ‘Hey is rider 52 a girl?’

‘Yes!’ shouts a woman sitting on the front row.

His eyes widen. ‘Cool.’ He nods in appreciation.

Rider 52 is Shayna Texter, she’s just won a pro flat track race, another one in an already glittering career, this time the 2019 American Flat Track Lima Half-Mile, regarded as one of the toughest tracks on the schedule.

The other 15 riders she beat were male. So were the other 26 pro riders that didn’t qualify for the final that she blitzed.

Shayna Texter, and the recently retired Nichole Cheza (now Nichole Mees), have competed at the top

of flat track for years. They are a tiny, but significant, minority in the professional ranks, showing that you don’t have to be anyone’s traditional idea of a motorcycle racer to be one of the elite. Thanks to the example set by Shayna and Nichole, more girls and women are entering flat track’s grassroots.

To help amplify the wave, Royal Enfield devised Build. Train. Race, a project inviting four women with very different levels of race experience to each build a race bike by modifying a Royal Enfield 650 Interceptor twin. Train to compete in a series of flat track races. Then, yes, race them at American Flat Track rounds in front of crowds of dirt-track-mad paying crowds.

Covid-19, like it did to so many plans, temporarily derailed the programme, but not before the four racers finished their Enfields.

Over the following pages we see the completed bikes, race ready but unraced. For now.

Click here to be taken to the official Build. Train. Race (BTR) site for the latest updates

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Click here to see BTR short films

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ANDREA LOTHROP Toronto, Canada

Co-owning and running Moto Revere, a DIY motorcycle workshop and club in downtown Toronto, means Andrea has the resources and ability to modify the Interceptor into a ready-to-race twin, but she’s the first to admit she lacks the race experience of some of the other women. In fact, she lacks any race experience at all, reinforcing the idea that Sideburn magazine was built on: if you have the desire, lack of experience won’t stop you.

With Moto Revere, Andrea set out to grow the city’s motorcycle community and give people a focus and home-from-home through Canada’s long, harsh winters when riding is

off the agenda, but the love of motorcycles is not. It offers space and support for riders without the room and/or experience to spanner on their own bikes. It’s somewhere for people to learn the basics the best way – by doing it themselves.

Modified on one of the benches at Moto Revere, Andrea’s race bike stays closer to the original road spec than some of the other Build Train Race (BTR) bikes, with the major modifications limited to lacing lightweight alloy 19in Sun rims to the original hubs then fitting Dunlop dirt track rubber; changing the seat and bars and fitting S&S slip-ons cans.

There are some neat custom touches in there too, including new aluminium sidepanels and ‘PsychGoth’ paint.

#23

ENGINE MODS S&S slip-on end cans; Messner Moto 3D-printed triple velocity stack system FRAME MODS None SUSPENSION Stock WHEELS & TYRES 19in Sun rims (built

by Buchanan’s) on stock hubs; Dunlop DT3 tyres BRAKE Stock with custom brake line BODYWORK Stock tank; Northern Lights flake upholstery

by Haversack Leather; Moto Revere custom aluminium sidepanels PAINT & GRAPHICS Paint

by Black Widow Custom Paint; graphics by Andrea Lothrop OTHER DETAILS Messner Moto controls from Sane Motion THANKS Moto Revere; Icon; Biltwell; RevIt; Pro 6 Cycle; Sane Motion; Messner Moto; Buchanan’s Spoke and Rim; Black Widow Custom Paint; S&S Cycle; Peter Redford; Ripple Rock Racers and Lawrence Hacking

#88

LANA MACNAUGHTON Portland, Oregon

Lots of people talk about the ‘stance’ of bikes and sometimes I shake my head wondering if we’re looking at the same motorcycle, but as far as I’m concerned, Lana has nailed it while not straying too far from the stock Interceptor.

It’s not surprising Lana has an eye for line and proportion, as the photographer behind the Women’s Moto Exhibit – a travelling photo display – her striking images have had an undeniable influence on the current global motorcycle scene and the amount of women taking up riding in some countries. Lana also co-founded events like the women-only Dream Roll and the world-renowned Palm Springsbased custom show, The Paradise Road Show.

Her race bike is the only one of the four BTR machines to retain the trio of stock tank, seat and sidepanels. Everything else not needed to make it race ready has been stripped off.

In spite, or perhaps because, of the retention of the stock bodywork, the lines look so right.

The front end has the same Yamaha R6 forks as used by Jillian (see next page), but Lana’s haven’t been shaved and they’re held in Cognito Moto triple clamps. Cognito Moto also handled lacing Lana’s 19in Sun wheel rims to the stock hubs. The new wheels are fitted with Maxxis rubber. The bend of those wide ProTaper flat track bars just adds to the purposeful nature of the bike.

ENGINE MODS S&S slip-on end cans FRAME MODS None SUSPENSION Front: Yamaha R6 forks in Cognito Moto triple clamps.

Rear: stock WHEELS & TYRES 19in Sun rims with stock hubs; Maxxis DTR-1 tyres BRAKE Stock BODYWORK Stock PAINT & GRAPHICS Stock DETAILS ProTaper handlebars THANKS S&S Cycle; Cognito Moto

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#31

JILLIAN DESCHENES Minneapolis, Minnesota

If you were putting money on the outcome of the races, Jillian might be the safe bet. She has two seasons of dirt track competition under her belt, winning a women’s district championship in her second season. She was also one of the first riders in the world to test the Royal Enfield FT411 at S&S Cycles’ Speed Ranch track in her home state.

‘I am intrigued by Royal Enfield’s affordability factor,’ says Jillian. ‘I think the cost of riding can be pretty daunting and Royal Enfield is making motorcycles accessible to a generation of individuals. I also appreciate and respect the enthusiasm they have for women in motorcycling, and the opportunities they offer to everyday women riders such as myself.’

During the Build section of the programme,

Jillian shortened the seat rails and welded on a new loop to allow the fitting of a traditional fibreglass seat unit. The ‘tank’ is a fibreglass dummy. The 650’s shapely steel tank was swapped for a much smaller alloy tank under the seat. The dummy tank allowed Jillian to get the seating position she wants, but it doesn’t have room for the the fuel pump the twin needs. The front end was switched for one from a Yamaha R6 sportsbike, to offer more opportunities for adjustment. The fork legs were then ‘shaved’ (smoothed down to remove all the cast brackets), because flat track race bikes don’t need front brakes and racers love the clean look. Like all the BTR bikes, Jillian has fitted 19in rims, but chose a race ‘spool’ hub for the front. That two-into-one S&S exhaust system is the icing on the cake.

ENGINE MODS S&S two-into-one exhaust; K&N pod filters; 520 chain conversion FRAME MODS Custom tail loop SUSPENSION Front: 43mm forks with Race Tech Gold Valves, custom triple clamps; Rear: stock shocks with Race Tech springs, revalved by PDR Performance WHEELS & TYRES Warp 9 rims, Buchanan spokes, quickchange rear hub from Cheney Engineering; Dunlop DT4 tyres BRAKE Custom BODYWORK Gopher Glass dummy tank; custom fuel tank under seat; Knight-style tail section and seat pad

by Saddleman; number plates by Amanda Wilson Design PAINT Plugs Garage; graphics

by Amanda Wilson Design DETAILS Vortex Murphree bend handlebars; custom bar clamps; Motion Pro throttle; 520 chain conversion THANKS Erik Moldenhauer and Jim Deschenes at Superior Tool Grinding, Inc; Lightshoe; Retrodyne; Moon Motorsports; Kyle Dahl; JA Glass; Gopher Glass; Amanda Wilson; Mike Holmgren; Plugs Garage; Icon1000; Moto Gear

#13

MELISSA PARIS Oceanside, California

At the opposite end of the scale to Andrea, in terms of racing experience, is Melissa, but she is not the product of pushy parents who plonked her on a 50cc minibike before she left kindergarten. In fact, she only learned to ride aged 20, but within a year or so she started competing in local club road races.

After a few years building her skills racing primarily 125cc and 250cc bikes, she made her professional debut in the 2009 Daytona 200. During that same stand-out year she became the first woman to qualify for a World Supersport event. Since then, she’s taken the opportunity to race in MotoAmerica, the Spanish CEV championship and several 24hour World Endurance events.

The motorsport background shines through in the spec of Melissa’s Interceptor. Top-ofthe-range Öhlins front and rear suspension; Evol Technology adjustable triple clamps; Beringer disc and master cylinder and the lightweight two-into-one S&S exhaust all grab attention. In terms of bodywork, Melissa’s bike is halfway between Lana’s and Jillian’s, with a stock tank but an Airtech flat track seat with integrated side number plates.

‘I’ve had the opportunity to ride a few Royal Enfield motorcycles in the last couple years and it’s always been such a fun change of pace for me,’ she says. ‘From the moment I rode the new Interceptor 650 I’ve been dreaming of building one into a flat tracker. I’m so excited that I’m actually getting the opportunity to make it happen.’

ENGINE MODS S&S two-into-one exhaust; S&S air filter; Power Commander V FRAME MODS Just a few nips and tucks SUSPENSION Front: Öhlins Retro 43 forks in Evol Technology adjustable triple clamps; Rear: Öhlins adjustable twin shocks WHEELS & TYRES Dubya 19in rims laced to stock hubs; Dunlop DT3 tyres BRAKE Beringer disc and master cylinder; Core brake line BODYWORK Stock fuel tank; AirTech seat unit PAINT SBKPaint; Graphics by GHD Designs THANKS Royal Enfield for this awesome opportunity; each of my sponsors that helped me out

Introducing...

Royal Enfield committed to enter a handful of 2020 AFT Production Twins races with a development of the Harris 650 Twin FT Concept. Covid-19 put the brakes on the project, but their development rider, racer and team manager, Johnny Lewis, tells us he thinks the bike has championship-winning potential Words: Johnny Lewis Photos: Alysha Lewis

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FIRST RODE the Enfield in December 2019 in England, more to actually sit on and test out the positioning of components on the concept bike. It’s an amazingly built piece of engineering. There is a lot of adjustment capability built into the concept bike, but I felt it was too narrow around the tank area.

I couldn’t really get my knee to drive into the tank anywhere, so I wouldn’t be able to make the bike turn how I wanted. The seat is too short from tank to over the top of the rear tyre, too. I need more room to be able to get on the rear of the bike to allow a mile tuck position. We spoke about the swingarm and the flex needed as well.

I couldn’t get on a dirt track in the middle of winter in England, but I could ride the bike around an old air force base runway1 and was able to get it up to speed, get in a tuck and feel the stability of the bike at over 100mph. The runway also had a fast left-hand corner that had multiple sealed patches and it was wet from raining earlier in the morning so, at over 60mph and in those conditions, the slick runway felt a lot like the Springfield Mile. I was pleased with the stability at lean, too, even with minimal front-end offset. I was able to suggest other areas to improve the chassis for the next build, removing some pieces of the frame for some flex, changing the size of a few tubes…

The engine isn’t as heavy as it might look, I picked it up myself and put it in the frame, since when the concept bike was shipped from the UK to my place in Florida, it was in 50 pieces. The weight is low in the motor and the stock Enfield crank is bigger than that of the Kawasaki or Yamaha twins, so that is a benefit.

I feel the motor will be a lot like a big Rotax, just like the Triumph was, but hopefully better. We had some issues with the Triumph Bonneville when I raced it in 2013, but the team building Royal Enfield engines and I have already listed all those issues and they assure me that this is a much more reliable motor [than the Triumph was, in flat track race spec]. A lot of the engine development guys worked for Triumph, so they should know.

In the short term, the shorter tracks and TT tracks on the AFT schedule will suit the bike best, because those tracks don’t rely on outright power, it’s down to riding a good-handling bike. We are going to have to work hard to get the top speed we need for the miles, but I am confident we will get there. S&S are excited to be part of the programme, too, supplying

Appendix

1. Royal Enfield’s UK-based technology centre is next to the Cold War-era Bruntingthorpe air base in Leicestershire. It has long been used by car and motorcycle magazines for speed testing thanks to its nearly two-mile-long runway.

‘We have a programme with a direction and it’s a good feeling’

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the exhaust, and have offered me a lot of support already. We’ve had a few lengthy conversations and they are an amazing crew. I feel we will have a good understanding of what we need to compete against the other production twins.

At the time of writing, I have the concept bike and I’m waiting for the second bike to be built, but riding the concept on my short track has been really good.

We don’t have a race motor yet, but just getting an understanding of the chassis has been encouraging.

I think Royal Enfield see flat track as relatable to their road-riding customers in many ways. It’s a simple sport in theory: you go around in a circle, you can do it on almost any bike – it’s just how far you want to push it and how fast you want to go. They are an amazing company, but they’ve never really gone racing. I think they have soul, passion, and if they’re going to put their energy into any sport it’s flat track.

The role I have with Royal Enfield is one I always dreamed of. It’s hard for me to sit back and let others make decisions. I feel like with my experience – not only on track, but growing up with a father like I had, that made me aware of what everything cost all the time, to racing for Factory KTM in the AMA Pro Supermoto series and seeing how a full factory team ran and operated out of a semi truck, to working with so many different flat track teams and mechanics over the last ten years – I have developed a sense of what is a decision for me or the team, or sponsors, and an understanding that balance will benefit everyone.

It’s also great to be involved with the Royal Enfield Slide Schools, both in India and America.

My plan for continuing to develop the bike is to get the race motor configuration and the new chassis and start testing on half-miles asap. I’m lucky enough to have access to the Travelers Rest Speedway in South Carolina at any time, so that will be where I’ll be for the first few weeks after I get the goods. From there we shall see, but I feel RE and Harris 2 are giving me a good base and we have the resources to get it dialledin. It has been re-energising to have a budget and connections to make things happen.

I’m back training as if I’m a racer. I’ve always trained, but it has been to just keep in shape, now it’s training to go racing, and racing with a plan, not just a random bike I’ve been offered for one-off weekend. We have a programme with a direction and it’s a good feeling. Who knows, maybe by the time we can go racing again we’ll have the bike where we need it to do a full season, my first full season in American Flat Track.

Appendix

2. Famed British framemakers, Harris Performance, were acquired by Enfield in May 2015. Their road and race chassis expertise is used by Enfield and Harris made the concept’s frame

NO AERO

Anything that could be deemed streamlining is banned by AFT. This Concept’s front number plate would even fail AFT’s tech inspection because of the way it curves around the fork legs. Number plates must be flat. The lack of aerodynamic assistance leads to the classic look of riders lying flat on the tank, ‘under the paint’, one hand on the fork leg as they slipstream down the straights.

evolution The fundamental design rules of dirt track race bikes don’t follow the same path as road racers due to a rulebook that hasn’t changed significantly since 1934. With the help of the Royal Enfield FT Twin Concept, we explain why race bikes in American Flat Track (AFT) look the way they do in 2020

TINY PETROL TANK

The reason flat track bikes look so cool is thanks to their inherent minimalism. The longest AFT Twins race is just 25 miles, and Production Twins races are usually shorter than that, so fuel tanks rarely hold more than six litres, just enough to get over the line and complete a victory lap.

STEEL FRAME

Aluminium frames are banned from both of AFT’s Twins classes, but the riders don’t mind because they want a frame that flexes. After testing this concept, Royal Enfield’s highly experienced rider, Johnny Lewis, requested changes from the company’s technical partner, Harris Performance, to make the frame less rigid as they moved toward building a race bike. Swingarms can be steel or aluminium.

Harris chose the latter.

TYRES

Dunlop are introducing a new tyre for use in American Flat Track to replace a pattern that dates back to 1972! Yes, 48 years. Imagine the leaps in MotoGP tech in that time.

As with all motorsports, the tyre is the crucial interface between machine and track, but the sport has purposely held back development of tyres to ensure a rider’s right wrist is more important than how much horsepower the engine makes. All modern twins have enough grunt to overwhelm a flat track tyre, causing it to spin up, so rider skill is crucial.

REAR WHEEL

While road racing superbikes aim to fit the lightest wheels possible to reduce unsprung weight, flat trackers fit the heaviest rear wheel assembly they can in an effort to increase traction and reduce wheelspin. Over the years, riders have tried various ways to increase weight, including filling inner tubes with water instead of air. American Flat Track now sets the maximum wheel assembly weight at a hefty 43lb (19.5kg) and has banned anything but air in the tubes. This rear wheel is an RSD Hammer.

REAR BRAKE

RACE CLASSES

AFT currently has three pro racing classes. Here’s a simple guide.

Super Twins Custom built ‘prototype’ bikes allowed to use race-only, two-cylinder engines up to 750cc or production-based (road bike-derived) two-cylinder engines up to 900cc.

Production Twins Bikes similar in all ways to the Super Twins except they must use production-based engines with a displacement of 649-800cc. Cylinders can be bored to reach the maximum cc. Royal Enfield plan to race in Production Twins with a development of this concept bike.

Singles 450cc motocross bikes, mildly modified for flat track racing (19in wheels, lowered suspension, engine tuning, exhaust pipes…), that still look very much like MX bikes.

AFT’s season comprises two distinct types of tracks: ovals and TTs. TT tracks have left and right turns and one or more jumps, but the jumps aren’t as severe as those on modern motocross tracks. Bikes must have front and rear brakes for TT races, but are only allowed rear brakes for the oval tracks. Rear brake discs are a much larger diameter than on most other types of race bike, and often ventilated, because riders rely on them to gain traction (see So You Want To Race, earlier in this mag).

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